This dim sum restaurant is particularly worthy to recommend and worth the mere 10 mins drive from Ipoh centre (where Plan B is).
Prices are cheap, dim sum is fresh and their lau sar pau/salted egg yolk bun is to die for; rich grainy custard of golden elixir, full bodied and sinfully thick.
Salted egg yolk bun – RM2.00 each.
Sin Hup Kee is one of Ipoh’s most famous Chinese restaurant, popular with both locals and visitors from other states.
It is of course; a must-try in our list, since I’m compiling a list of Best Ipoh Chinese Restaurants.
Brian joined us for lunch and picked the recommended dishes.
We started with their signature stir fried chicken (“Kon Thin Kai“) which Brian forewarned us that “it used to be way better back in the days“.
Well, a lot of food were, as many restaurants started loosing their attention to detail or are cutting corners for commercial reasons.
Out of the many tai chou (Chinese big-fry) restaurants that I’ve been to in Ipoh, Restoran Makanan Laut Crab House easily clinched a spot in my “Top 5 Chinese Restaurants in Ipoh” list.
Service is brisk and the waiting time for dinner is short though the restaurant is packed.
I was informed that reservation is a must and after my meal, I understood why.
The restaurant is air-conditioned and the proprietor is seen serving diners and overseeing the operations throughout the night. Such a hands-on approach is admirable and it does bought fore a difference to the overall dining experience.
We observed that orders were timely, the staff working at efficiency level, diners were happy and every plate that I spied leaving the kitchen was nicely plated with the food looks fresh and delicious.
As I prepare the 10 reviews for my “Best Chinese Restaurant in IPOH” list, Choy Kee was one that trailed at the bottom of the list.
It is inevitable for any meal in a Chinese restaurant to score hits and misses but it remained a big negative impression if all 3 dishes for dinner is bad.
For Choy Kee, it is either a stroke of bad luck or the food is truly of mediocre standard.
Our sweet and sour pork was acceptable at best, the salted egg yolk squids were rings of rubber and the pork ribs truly cloying sweet.
Yam Yam Seafood Restaurant was one of the restaurants that offers almost all my favourite food in one venue – homemade fishballs, frogs (yes!!), claypot lamb and sweet and sour pork.
Sadly, food turned out to be just about decent, definitely not one of my favorites or one that I’ll be keen to revisit.
But to be fair, it wasn’t terribly bad, just that we weren’t impressed with our dinner.
A local Ipohan once disclosed to me that traditional Hakka cuisine are far and inbetween in Ipoh.
Thus when O Cafe opened its doors to welcome strangers for its homely Hakka fare it was well received by both the locals and tourists.
Positive reviews of its fare went on its rounds both offline and online.
Upon hearing of its unique proposition we made sure that we arranged a visit to O Cafe during our recent Ipoh trip.
Wong Koh Kee is a classic culinary gem.
A 3rd generation business with almost 80 years of history, Wong Koh Kee retains simplicity in everything; its recipes, the venue, the furniture, the cutleries and even the order taking procedure.
Heck, even its staff are ancient.
But that’s the charm you see, for this is one venue to head to for a taste of yesteryears’ cuisine, the sort that your grandparents would dish out; cheap, tasty, no frills and prepared via traditional methods.
Available only for lunch, be prepared to eat and go, for the place is perpetually crowded and table turnovers is high.
You can linger if you wish but I doubt your conscience (unless you have absolutely none) will allow you to dawdle when the old waiters not-to-discreetly clear away your plates plus the many pair of eyes boring into you as they stand in queue for a seat in the shop.
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Eating Thai food in Ipoh? Why?? Well, I had similar reservations when my trusted Ipoh guide Brian bought the topic up. However over the years, I’ve learnt that if Brian recommends it, it will…
